Canonical has announced the final release of Ubuntu 9.04; also announced were the releases of Ubuntu 9.04 Server Edition and Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix, but of course also Kubuntu 9.04, and Xubuntu 9.04.

This new Ubuntu release delivers a host of new features, as well as lots of improvements. Boot times were a focus of this release, and have been shortened. I've been testing the beta and RC releases for a while now, and I can indeed confirm that boot times have been shortened. Obviously, your mileage may vary. Suspend-and-resume has also been enhanced, according to Canonical.

They've also put time and effort into WiFi and 3G, broadening hardware support for switching between the two. It also comes with the brand new notification system, which we've covered in greater detail already on OSNews. For the rest, the new Ubuntu release comes with all the latest Free software packages, such as GNOME 2.26, (also covered before here on OSNews), X.org server 1.6, Linux kernel 2.6.28, ext4 support, and much more.

The KDE variant of Ubuntu, Kubuntu, comes with the latest KDE release, version 4.2.2, Amarok 2.0.2, the new Plasma-based network manager widget, the first KDE4 release of Digikam (it doesn't yet use all of KDE4's frameworks, though), Qt 4.5, and more.

Jane Silber, COO, Canonical, says: "With every release, we see Ubuntu Desktop Edition make significant steps forward in appealing to mainstream computer users. With access to the latest office productivity suite, support for Skype and Adobe Flash, and faster boot times, we're confident that Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition will see more people join millions of others and make the switch to an open platform."

Download instructions can be found in the announcements as linked to in the teaser.